Ralph Barbieri let go by KNBR

Ralph Barbieri, whose sandpaper voice and verbal dexterity were a fixture on San Francisco sports radio since 1984, has been fired.

KNBR terminated its enthusiastically abrasive host, marking the end of one of the most divisive shows in Bay Area broadcasting.

"One of his endearing qualities -- frustrating and endearing at the same time -- is that he was a bulldog," said Tom Tolbert, Barbieri's broadcast partner, during an emotional on-air tribute Wednesday. "When he had his teeth into something, and he felt like he was in the right, he wasn't going to let it go."

KNBR did not explain the move. Lee Hammer, the station's operations manager and program director, wrote via email that "it was a management decision" and declined to comment further.

Tolbert, however, was outspoken about the departure during the opening of his show. He choked up several times -- pausing for several seconds to collect himself -- as he tried to convey the sense of chemistry during the 15-year run of the "Razor & Mr. T" show.

"We always had fun. When we disagreed, it was never contrived," said Tolbert, the Mr. T in the equation. "There were times when we would get angry together, but it never lasted more than a segment."

Barbieri, 66, revealed to San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler last October that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2005.

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In that same piece, Barbieri said that during contract negotiations last year he disclosed his medical situation to Lew Dickey, the CEO of Cumulus Media, the parent company of KNBR. "He let me know that KNBR wants me back," Barbieri told Ostler.

Barbieri wrote for Sport magazine before starting at KNBR in 1984. He got his own show in 1989 and it became a hit in the 25-54 male demographic in the Bay Area. He could combative -- with high-profile guests or with first-time callers -- a reputation he embraced.

Ted Robinson, the 49ers play-by-play announcer, credited Barbieri and Gary Radnich for taking the sports-talk format and "driving it to heights never seen in this market."

An occasional guest host with Barbieri, Robinson said the Razor "had the innate ability to capture what the fans wanted to know. The questions he asked were exactly what the fans would ask if they had an open microphone. That's part of what makes Ralph an enduring figure in Bay Area radio."

Barbieri showed his softer side when talking about his son, Tayte, sharing with his listeners the saga of finding an egg donor and a surrogate mother to carry the fertilized egg.

Tolbert said the silver lining of Barbieri's end at the station is that his friend could now spend the 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. time slot at Little League games rather than in a booth. "I know he's going to have a lot of time with Tayte, and I think that's awesome," Tolbert said.

Barbieri's statement

In the wake of his dismissal, longtime KNBR radio voice Ralph Barbieri dictated the following statement to this newspaper:"First of all, I want to say I was flattered and humbled by what Tom (Tolbert) said on the air today. I've never seen him even close to that emotional before, and his words really touched me."But now, cliche as though it may sound, all I can say is that I'm weighing my options, which are considerable."I'll have more to say later on. For now, I just want to say that I've seen a couple of articles that have characterized this as an amicable parting. Well, that's not exactly the case."I came to work (Tuesday) morning with no idea that anything of this nature was afoot, especially since my contract does not expire until Nov. 1."I was immediately told that the general manager wanted to see me. I went to his office, and the program director was there as well. I was told that I was being terminated and that (Tuesday), April 10, was to be my last day at KNBR."They presented me with about 100 pages of legal documents and told me to get back to them after I had read them."Then, I was told to get my belongings and turn in my card key, after which I was 'escorted' out of the building by a KNBR management person."When I got into my car, I tried to access about 20 voice-mail messages, but I found out that somebody had cut out my access."The whole process took about 7 minutes. Let's see: 7 minutes for 28 years at KNBR. That's four years a minute. I have to admit that's pretty time efficient -- not to mention classy."That's about all I can say. But after the dust clears, I'll have more of an idea of what path I may pursue."